A Hero's Blood
by AK1028
Summary: An alternate ending to 'Crash of the Titans' winds up with Crash dead and Cortex on the side of good. Can Cortex - with the help of N. Gin, Tiny, Coco, Crunch, and Aku-Aku avenge Crash's murder? Rated T for blood. AU of my 'Cousins in Time' universe. Please read & review! -And always think outside of the box!
1. Chapter 1

**A Hero's Blood**

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_Summary: What if Nina had won against Crash in 'Crash of the Titans'? How much would change? This story combines the usual 'Crash Bandicoot' timeline and my timeline. I own none of these characters, just my own ideas and any original characters that I use. Enjoy everyone._

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It had been a typical day for Coco Bandicoot. She had been kidnapped by Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex, held captive on an evil robot, and the fate of her life and the world rested on the shoulders of her older brother, Crash Bandicoot. But not all of it was typical. Cortex was suspended in mid-air by his own niece, Nina Tabitha Cortex, who had replaced Cortex – due to Uka-Uka's orders.

-Flashback: A few hours ago-

_After kidnapping Coco and stealing mojo from the temple, Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex was back at his castle, playing the piano. Tiny and N. Gin were with him, listening to him play. Uka-Uka floated in and stated, yelling a bit, "That was ridiculous and applauding. You failed to destroy Crash Bandicoot." Cortex stopped playing the piano and turned to Uka-Uka. He defended, "I don't see what the big deal is. We got away with the mojo and Crash's sister." _

_While he was saying this, N. Gin gave Cortex a cup of tea. Uka-Uka corrected, "I got away with the mojo. And the big deal is that Crash Bandicoot is still alive." Uka-Uka announced, "Cortex, I'm going to replace you." Upon hearing this, Cortex's eyes widen as he spit his tea in N. Gin's face. N. Gin screamed, covering his rocket eye, "Thank you, master!" N. Gin wiped himself off as Cortex told Uka-Uka, "You can't replace me! My name is on the stationery!" _

_With that, Cortex pulled out a piece of paper to show Uka-Uka, which he did. N. Gin laughed a bit and said, "Yeah, that's right tough guy! If you want to buy a new stationery, you respect the master!" Tiny added with his arms folded across his chest, "It's a really nice stationery too." N. Gin gasped and stated, "Oh, I know! Glossy!" Uka-Uka stated to Cortex, "Cortex, you've never been more wrong." Thinking that Uka-Uka was complimenting him, Cortex bowed. _

_"Uh, thank you," he said. That's when he realized and asked, "What?! What do you mean?" As he asked that, he threw the cup of tea into N. Gin's face. N. Gin laughed a bit and said, "Thank you again, master…hotter than the first!" With that, N. Gin gave two thumbs up to Cortex. Uka-Uka announced, "Allow me to introduce to you, your replacement: Nina Cortex!" With that, Nina entered the room with her mutants. _

_Cortex was so shocked by this so much that he spit into N. Gin's face again. N. Gin complained, "Oh come on! He didn't even have a cup!" Nina told her mutants, "Take out the trash, girls!" The mutants did as they were told. In an instant, Cortex was tied up and hanging upside down. Nina commented, "Sorry Uncle. But it's time for some young blood to lead us to victory." She then grabbed the bounded Coco and dragged her over. _

_She added, "And now that we have Coco, we can make her build the robot." Coco snarled, furious, "You won't get away with this! Crash will come and kick your butt." Nina replied, confident, "Oh, I hope Crash tries, I really do. After all, I need a new fur coat." Nina laughed at this, snorting a bit. After she was done; she ordered, "Get to work on the Doominator, make more mutants soldiers! I want N. Sanity Isle smashed flat!" _

_Coco retaliated, the best she could; "Your hair is dumb!" Nina rolled her eyes and stated, "Oh shut her up!" With that, a red helmet went onto Coco's head, making her a mindless genius that obeyed every command that Nina or Uka-Uka gave her._

-End of Flashback-

Crash had finally arrived and the battle between him and Nina was going down. Nina was currently riding Arachina, a spider mutant. Crash was riding Ee-Lectric, an eel mutant. Aku-Aku was helping Crash keep control of Ee-Lectric. Things were working out right now in Crash's favor as both Coco and Cortex observed. Cortex was released when Crash arrived and given orders to keep the Doominator on course for N. Sanity Isle.

Cortex watched this battle with the greatest of interest, with his thoughts surrounding him. It had been a year after the Evil Twins incident. Everything went back to normal two months afterwards, when everyone competed for the deed to Von Clutch's Motor World. Crash wounded up winning the deed and giving it back to Von Clutch but that wasn't what was bothering him. Lately, he couldn't get what happened out of his head.

For the past year, Cortex was up by dawn's early light and he refused to get out of his bed. Sometimes, he would just lie down on his bed, in his pajamas and totally confused. His thoughts were going faster than a bullet train in Tokyo and they were doing that as he watched the battle. Cortex thought to himself, _'Why…why did I help Crash defeat the Evil Twins? What was I thinking? Why did I wish that I could see Victor and Maurtiz again?_

_'Did that cause Victor and Maurtiz to return? Why did I enjoy working with Crash? Why did I feel…right…when I was working with Crash? And is Nina acting this way when she worked with Crash to save the world? What about John and Pete? Did they have no effect on her whatsoever?'_ Cortex's heart wasn't helping matters either for it was pounding. Ever since the whole experience had happened, Cortex's heart didn't stop pounding and hadn't stopped since.

Even after a year had passed, it continued to pound in his chest. Cortex wouldn't dare to admit it to his evil cohorts that he enjoyed being on the side of good and helping Crash defeat the Evil Twins. And also thanks to John and Pete, Crash and Cortex were best friends.

-Flashback: _'Crash Twin Sanity: One and Half'_-

_Crash, John, Cortex, and Pete are in this psychiatrist's office. John asked his younger brother, "Why are we here again?" "Search me," Pete answered. "The reason you four are here is so that we can settle the conflict apparent in your relationship," the psychiatrist, Dr. Paul, said. "We have conflict," John asked, confused. "Apparently so," Pete answered, shrugging. Dr. Paul then turned to Crash and Cortex._

_The psycharist stated, "Now, Mr. Bandicoot and Dr. Cortex, you have the most conflict. So, let's try something." "It's not that lame falling thing is it," Crash asked. "It's not lame," Dr. Paul defended, a bit teary eyed. Cortex, Crash, John, and Pete giggled at this under their breath. Dr. Paul cleared his throat and told Cortex, "Now Cortex, I want you to cross your arms across your chest and fall backwards. And Crash will catch you, making sure that you are in a safe place." _

_"Ugh, fine," Crash said. Cortex responded, "I don't think this is going to work. He's an idiot. I don't like him let alone TRUST him." He paused and added, acting, "And I have a fear of falling." Everyone shoots him a look as he adds, "Okay, fine. Let's just get this over with." Cortex starts to whisper that he is safe place._ _But that's when a Wumpa Fruit rolls right by Crash's feet. Crash goes to get it as Cortex starts to fall. "Cortex; look out," said John and Pete, in unison. _

_It was too late as Cortex fell and crashed into the bookcase. Crash bites into the Wumpa Fruit, looks over his shoulder, and shrugs. John and Pete both smacked their foreheads. Cortex groaned, "Oh, how I HATE Bandicoots." Cortex fainted again and a book smacks him in the forehead. "That could've gone better," John reported. "Oh yeah," Pete said. Dr. Paul told them, "Don't feel too left out. You two are next." "Yup," said John and Pete, in unison, "That figures."_

-End of Flashbacks-

John and Pete were a big influence on Cortex and Crash, helping them sort out the trouble they had during the very first tussle the evil scientist and the mutant south Australian bandicoot ever had. Anyways, the battle between Nina and Crash had just turned from in Crash's favor into Nina's favor. Crash was thrown off Ee-Lectric and Aku-Aku was thrown aside. Coco gasped and Cortex started to sweat out of worry.

Things weren't looking all too good as Arachina approached the down bandicoot and Nina yelled, "Crush him!" "NO," Coco yelled – at the same time Cortex did. No one heard the evil scientist's command and Nina didn't really care what Coco thought so Arachina lifted up its legs and they went crashing down on the hero. The whole thing kind of went in slow motion and there was an eerie silence after the deed was done.

No one said a word as they all looked at where Arachina had stomped. There was a pool of blood underneath the spider and it was getting bigger by the second. Coco gasped as Cortex was about to rush down and help but Nina saw him from the corner of her eye. "Don't even think about it, uncle," she hissed, "I'm not letting you finish this – it is no longer your job."

Cortex wanted to scream so badly, "Yeah, well as top student from the Evil Medical School, I have every right to check Crash!" Sadly, the words never came out for Arachina had lifted its legs before Cortex could yell. The pool of blood was there…as was Crash's dead body. Seeing his dead body was too gruesome that Nina gave everyone mercy and had Arachina cover the body again. Coco was green in the fur, sick to her stomach.

Cortex was green in the skin in his case as he was also sick to his stomach. Aku-Aku was just frozen there, no one could tell if he was going green or not. Nina had long recovered from the shock and started to celebrate. "Alright," she said, pumping her fists into the air, "I defeated Crash Bandicoot!" Coco yelled, breaking her silence, "Defeated him? You murdered him! You murdered my brother!"

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_AK1028: I apologize for the bit of delay on this one. I have returned to college and things are rush, rush over here. Anyways, I hope that this story comes out as good as 'Cortex Chaos'. I think it's off to a pretty good start, sorry that I had to kill off Crash – it was needed for this story. I hope to continue with this, get my other stories off hiatus, and finish them and this. Please read and review! And remember: always think outside of the box! Later!_


	2. Chapter 2

Cortex wanted to freak out as much as Coco was but something was holding him back. Was it guilt? It had to be, the evil scientist reasoned. Cortex felt guilty for his best friend's death. He felt like he was the one that killed Crash and not Nina. Coco hissed, seeing that Aku-Aku was completely quiet, "You're a murderer, Nina Cortex!" Nina started to respond, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but…" "Plasma will always hurt you," a voice finished and at the same time a green plasma blast hit Nina.

The blast hit Nina in her left arm, throwing her off Arachina. Nina gripped her arm and Aku-Aku snapped out of his trance. Coco was a bit surprised that someone took a shot at Nina but she was even more surprised at who took the shot. Standing there before Nina and next to Coco was Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex with his plasma blaster in hand and his eyes solely focused on Nina. "Uncle," Nina asked, in disbelief. "You weren't supposed to kill Crash," Cortex pointed out, his tears evident, "Just defeat him!"

"I'm not soft like you and I never will be," Nina hissed. Cortex asked, still tearing, "What about John and Pete? What if they return and discover that you killed Crash?" "I would say bring them on," Nina answered, her cold heart showing, "And then I'll give them the same reward of Crash…and of you." Nina yelled at Arachina, "Attack!" The spider mutant obeyed and shot its webs towards Cortex. Before Cortex could react, a light shield protected him from the webbing.

Cortex opened his eyes and saw that Aku-Aku was floating there. "Free Coco and stop the Doominator," Aku-Aku ordered. Cortex nodded and used his plasma blaster to free Coco from her bindings. "Thanks," Coco said, still in shock about her brother – and about Cortex. "You're welcome," Cortex replied, "But we need to shut down the Doominator. Can you do it?" "Not without my transpurlator," Coco responded, shaking her head. "Darn it," Cortex whispered. Just then, Coco saw that Aku-Aku's shield was getting weaker.

"I'll help Aku-Aku," Cortex told her, "You just try to get this thing to stop." Coco nodded in agreement and ran over to the control panel. Cortex went over to the good mask and took more shots at Nina, hoping to buy Coco some time to destroy the Doominator. Nina and Arachina kept avoiding the attacks from Cortex, though, as seeing as the spider mutant was rather fast. Coco, meanwhile, saw a big red button labeled _'SELF DESTRUCT BUTTON'_. "Talk about planning," Coco quipped as she pushed it.

Alarms and bells started to go off as the Doominator started to shake. Cortex was thrown a bit but Aku-Aku stopped him from going far. "This ain't over," Nina said as she and Arachina escaped from the danger. "We better get out of here as well," Aku-Aku stated as Nina fled. "I hear that," Coco stated as she and Cortex fled the Doominator with Aku-Aku guiding them. Suddenly, parts of the robot started to fall down their heads. Cortex knew that he had to do something, even if it meant…

"Do you trust me," Cortex asked Aku-Aku and Coco. "I guess so," Coco answered, a bit skeptical. "Zaline waned," Cortex chanted. Instantly, the parts falling down all around them slowed down. Coco and Aku-Aku's eyes went wide when they saw this. Coco asked, "You know magic?" "I was born with it," Cortex answered, truthfully, "Let's move." Coco and Aku-Aku obeyed and they continued with their escape. As they reached the exit just as the Doominator exploded, blacking out the three of them.

"Neo," a voice asked, sounding like N. Gin. Cortex groaned, starting to wake. Standing over him was N. Gin, looking absolutely worried. "Nicholas," Cortex asked, still groggy. N. Gin nodded as Cortex stated, "I had the worst nightmare. Nina killed Crash, not caring about what happened with the Evil Twins or with John and Pete a year ago." N. Gin hesitated to reply and Cortex perked up at this real quick. Cortex stated, "Nicholas, please tell me that it was a dream." "It wasn't," N. Gin responded, sadly.

Cortex perked up as N. Gin further explained, "Crash is dead and Nina didn't care anything about what happened a year ago or us." "What do you mean," Cortex asked. "Nina fired me and Tiny after she found out that we were more loyal to you," N. Gin answered. "Whoa, I never thought she would do that," Cortex breathed. N. Gin nodded and added, "And a few people are working with her, including some students from the academy. We're needed on the bandicoots' side since Crash is now dead."

Hearing those words, Cortex just lost it. His mutant best friend was dead…and he felt like it was his fault. N. Gin felt bad and stayed there to comfort his best friend. Cortex cried and N. Gin felt beyond bad. The two of them were really close - almost like brother's._ 'I know John and Pete are going to hate this news,'_ Cortex thought,_ 'As soon as I can, I have to tell them.'_

A few days later, the new residents of N. Sanity Isle joined Coco, Crunch, and Aku-Aku for a memorial in Crash's honor. There were many tears – most of them coming from Coco and Cortex. Cortex felt guilty and Coco felt bad about losing her brother. N. Gin held Coco close, something that the genius bandicoot didn't mind. Cortex dried his eyes as he turned to N. Gin, who was still holding Coco. Cortex asked, "N. Gin, can you help me get a wire to John and Pete in Chicago?" N. Gin just nodded as he helped Coco back into the house.

_AK1028: Hope that you guys enjoyed this second chapter! In the next chapter, OCs will be introduced plus…John and Pete, the famous Pichu brothers, are going to return to the Wumpa Islands. What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	3. Chapter 3

N. Gin sat Coco down, who was looking sad beyond belief. N. Gin gave Coco a cheek kiss, which didn't surprise the young genius, as seeing she knew that N. Gin had a crush on her. Still, Coco couldn't help but blush at the kiss. N. Gin went over to the counter and Cortex went over to him. "How do you want to write this, Neo," N. Gin questioned. "Well, I don't want to tell them until they get here," Cortex answered. He then asked, "Can you tell them to come back as soon as they can?"

"You have it," N. Gin stated. With that, N. Gin wrote the note and then went outside. N. Gin threw out a Poke ball and within a flash of light, a Charizard appeared. N. Gin approached Charizard and asked, "Can you take this to Chicago, please?" Charizard roared, took the note, and flew off. N. Gin watched the Flame Pokémon fly off to Chicago, worried about how John and Pete would take the news.

Meanwhile, John and Pete were having a typical day and they were playing with their old friends. Suddenly, a Charizard appeared out of nowhere. Smeragle asked, "What's a Charizard doing here?" "That's N. Gin's Charizard," John pointed out. Pete raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's it doing here?" Charizard laid the note down at both of the Pichu brother's feet.

John picked it up to read it. John read, _"Dear John and Pete, something has happened here on N. Sanity Isle and we need you to return. Charizard will take you back. –N. Gin."_ Pete raised an eyebrow and wondered, "I wonder what happened?" "It's a good question," John replied, "Only one way to find out." Pete nodded as the two of them got on Charizard. "To N. Sanity Isle," they pronounced at the same time. Charizard roared as it took off for the islands.

Also meanwhile, Nina was in her new lair with Uka-Uka. Uka-Uka proclaimed, "I am very proud of you Nina for killing Crash Bandicoot." Nina smiled and replied, "It was no big deal. Everyone else here would've done the same." Uka-Uka looked around and saw that N. Trophy, N. Brio, Ripper Roo, Steve McFire, and Gus Galvon were present. Gus was a boy around Nina's age. He had short blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing the same school uniform Nina was.

He also had light white skin. Steve was also a boy around Nina's age. He had short red hair, brown eyes, and wearing the same school uniform Gus and Nina were. Gus went over to Nina and said, "You know we've would have in an instant." "I still cannot believe your uncle betrayed us," Steve commented, "just rude and not right." Uka-Uka stated, "Do not worry, if he returns, he shall get the ultimate penalty." Everyone smiled at this statement, evilly.

Back on N. Sanity Isle, Charizard flew back down. John and Pete got off of the Flame Pokémon and saw that everyone was rushing towards them – except for Crash and Nina. John and Pete raised an eyebrow to this. John asked, "Guys, where's Crash?" "And Nina," Pete also asked. Coco flinched at this and surprised everyone when she started to cry into N. Gin's right shoulder. N. Gin was surprised too but started to comfort her.

Cortex gulped and started to explain, trying not to lose it again, "Well, it all started when Uka-Uka replaced me with Nina. It was the final battle and Crash lost control of Ee-Lectric and Nina had Arachina stomped its legs on Crash and…" John gulped now and finished, "Killed him…?" Cortex nodded as John and Pete all gasped in total horror. They couldn't believe it. Crash Bandicoot, the hero of the Wumpa Islands, was dead…

_AK1028: Well, that's it for chapter 3! Sorry for it being so short but I want chapter 4 to be a bit longer since we're going ahead into the future of N. Sanity Isle two years. What will the future be like? Will N. Gin get his dream girl? Will Cortex feel less guilty? Can John and Pete accept the fact that Crash is dead? Only one way to find out! You stayed tuned! Hope you guys enjoy this! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Two Years Later…**_

It had been a very difficult two years for everyone after Crash's murder. Not only did Cortex create a new bandicoot named Coral, N. Gin and Coco had become a couple. Coral was Crunch's older brother and Coco's cousin as well as a doctor. She has light orange fur, long brown hair that was pulled back into a long ponytail, green eyes, wearing a doctor's lab coat, rose colored shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes.

Not only that, several creations returned to the islands. Returning first was Cristaen Ponderoo, Pinstripe's younger sister. Cristaen had long blonde hair, green eyes, wearing a light blue shirt, purple jeans, and purple shoes. Also returning was Johnny Ponderoo, Pinstripe and Cristaen's step brother. Johnny has short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes.

Returning with Johnny was Selma Ponderoo, Pinstripe and Cristaen's step sister and Johnny's younger sister. Selma has long brown hair with one piece of it blonde, green eyes, a pink shirt, pink jeans, with blue shoes - which has roller skates in them. Also returning was an old schoolmate of Cortex's, Cynthia Crest. Cynthia had long brown hair, hazelnut eyes, wearing a pair of crystal earrings, turquoise dress and white shoes.

Cortex's magic was exposed and soon he taught it to everyone he knew. Aku-Aku was impressed with the firepower that they had gotten since Crash's death. The team now comprised of: Cortex, N. Gin, Tiny, Coco, Crunch, Coral, Cristaen, Johnny, Selma, Cynthia, John, and Pete. "Let us just hope that it is enough to defeat my brother and avenge Crash," Aku-Aku stated to the team.

Coco was in her lab, studying a specimen of an unusual origin. As she looked through her microscope, someone entered her lab, quietly and snuck up behind her, wrapping their arms around her waist. Coco gasped from shocked as she turned her head a tad and saw her boyfriend, N. Gin, holding her. "Nicholas," she scolded, "You scared me!" "Sorry," N. Gin replied, even though he didn't sound sorry. Coco smiled a bit as she turned to him. N. Gin smiled at her as she leaned down to his level and gave him a gentle kiss. N. Gin happily returned it.

He still couldn't believe that he had landed the beautiful genius. Coco broke the kiss too soon for N. Gin's liking as she went back to her microscope. "I might have found the critical element to the mutants' strong powers," Coco reported to the rocket scientist. "What is it," N. Gin asked, curious. "What do you and Cortex know about nitrogen," Coco questioned. "Nitrogen," N. Gin repeated, to make sure that he heard Coco right.

When the young genius nodded; N. Gin explained, "Nitrogen was what we used to stabilize the mutants' bloodstreams." He then asked, "Why?" "Well," Coco replied, "The blood sample I took from Arachina two years ago has TRIPLE the doses compared to Ee-Lectric." "You mean that Nina might've drugged Arachina," N. Gin asked, a bit surprised that Nina would go that far to defeat – and kill Crash Bandicoot.

N. Gin always thought that Nina wanted things to be fair and square. Coco nodded, sadly. N. Gin was in pure and utter shock. Arachina…drugged… Coco laid her head on N. Gin's shoulder and started to cry. N. Gin held her in his arms, rubbing her back in ordinary to try and calm her down, a few tears surfacing on his end.

Meanwhile, Gus was going through the old records, curious about something. He usually would never question Nina's skills, as seeing that he had a crush on her, but he had to know. That's when he found something…a report on Arachina. Curious, Gus opened the report and started to read it. When he read the part where Arachina had more nitrogen in its system compared to the others, he knew that it might've been possible that Nina drugged the mutant spider – which probably explained its quick death only a few months after Crash's.

"It all makes sense," Gus whispered, "Nina drugged Arachina to defeat Crash Bandicoot. His death was probably just a sweet twist." Gus was now torn. Should he approach Nina about this or try to find a way to get the news to the heroes…? He knew that none of the heroes knew him personally but he knew that there were four people that he could give this to: Bub, Bob, John, and Pete.

Back on the island, everyone gathered at the make-shift grave for Crash. They had created a park and a tombstone for the hero, honoring him. Coco placed a piece of Wumpa Fruit at the foot of the grave and stepped back. The tombstone read: _'Here lies Crash Bandicoot, hero of N. Sanity Isle. He will be missed. October 14, 1990-September 11, 2007.'_ Coco started to cry as N. Gin comforted her.

_AK1028: Okay, the last part of when Crash died was in honor of September 11, 2001._ _Anyways, 2007 was the year that "Crash of the Titans" was released. Hope that clears up any confusion. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_

_Amie: Also on a personal note, make sure you honor those who died today on September 11, 2001. May we never forget what happened eleven years ago today._


	5. Chapter 5

John and Pete were training after the service, trying to get into shape for the battle against Nina. They knew that they had to do something about the Goth girl. Cortex came over to them and asked, "How are things going here?" "Fine," the two of them answered, in unison. John looked up at Cortex and saw his pale features. John asked, "Still kicking yourself for what happened?" "Yeah," Cortex answered, sadly. Pete stated, defiant, "But that wasn't your fault! It was Nina's!"

"And I was responsible for Nina," Cortex responded, shaking his head. Pete replied, "Yeah but she was totally out of control. That wasn't tied back to you." "Certainly feels like it," Cortex stated, sitting down in the grass. John went over to him and said, "You know, we all lost someone that day two years ago. Pete and I lost a great friend and trainer. You had nothing to do with Crash being killed. It wasn't your fault and it will never be your fault." Cortex was touched by John's statement that he hugged John.

John returned the hug as Pete, Pete, and John all smiled at the sight as they heard a slight hissing sound. John and Pete's cheeks started to get charged with electricity. Cortex got up and got a Poke ball ready. "Who's there," Cortex asked, ready for a fight. Suddenly, he saw a Gengar. "That's a Gengar," John stated. Pete added, "The Shadow Pokémon." Cortex stated, "I'm not sure what a Gengar is doing here but Salamence can make good work of it."

"I like to see Salamence try," said a voice. John, Pete, and Cortex perked up as they saw Gus standing there. "Who are you," John asked – even though it was more of a demand than a question. "Not for you to know," Gus answered, "But I for some information for John and Pete." "What kind of information," Pete asked. "Information about Crash's murder," Gus answered. "If you got information for us then why do you have your Gengar out," John demanded.

"If you can defeat Gengar, then I'll give you the information," Gus stated. "And if not," Pete wondered. "I wait for a week to re-challenge you with a different Pokémon," Gus replied, sounding a bit smug and a bit confident. "You're on," Cortex stated, about ready to throw his Poke ball. "Wait, Cortex," said John. "Wait," Cortex questioned, "But this kid has information on Crash's death!" Pete answered, "We know that but this information is for us." "Yeah, we should be the ones to earn it," John added.

"So will you let us," Pete asked. Cortex looked at his four friends and after a few minutes, Cortex put away his Poke ball and nodded. John and Pete smiled as they turned to Gus. "Bring it on, Gengar," said the four of them, in unison. Gus commanded, "Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Gengar obeyed and threw the dark ball of energy at the two Pokémon. They dodged it as Pete tried Discharge.

Gus commanded, "Shadow Sneak!" Gengar obeyed and disappeared into the ground, avoiding Discharge. Pete snarled as Gengar appeared behind him. John quickly reacted and used Zap Cannon. Gengar got a bit paralyzed from the attack but shook it off and used its shadow to attack them. John and Pete were a bit blown away but they managed to recover.

Cortex wanted to get in on the action but he knew that they had to fight this guy on their own. Gus commanded, "Night Shade!" Night Shade came out of Gengar's hands and hit the two of them, hard. John and Pete were down and out for the count. Cortex gasped as he ran over to them. Gus recalled Gengar and left them without saying another word. Cortex watched him leave, wondering what that was all about and who he was.

Back with the heroes, Coral was listening to the tales of Crash's past…all except for the first tussle between Crash and Cortex. Coral was amazed at Crash's bravery and wished that she had the chance to meet him. Cortex arrived back with John and Pete – injured and in his arms. Everyone gasped as Coral ran over and asked, "What happened?" "They were attacked by a kid with a powerful Gengar," Cortex answered. Coral rushed the four of them into the house as fast as she could.

_AK1028: And that's the end of the chapter! I apologize for the delay and I hope that you liked it! Please read and review! Always think outside of the box!_


	6. Chapter 6

Coral had finishing John and Pete. "They'll be fine," Coral reported to Cortex. "Thank goodness," the ex-evil scientist replied, breathing a sigh of relief. Pete stated, "Man, that guy with the Gengar was tough." John responded, "No kidding. I do wonder what he found out what Crash's murder." Pete nodded and replied, "Same here." Coco and N. Gin exchanged worried looks. The two of them agreed not to say anything until they were 100% sure that Arachina was drugged.

If Arachina was drugged, then that would mean that Nina was desperate to win…or Uka-Uka was. If Uka-Uka was the one that did it, then that would mean that the evil mask might've been aiming to destroy Aku-Aku or lower his powers. If it was Nina, it would mean that she just wanted the power of her uncle's stationery. Coco and N. Gin were unsure and they didn't want to say anything until they were.

-Flashback: _'Crash Tag Team Racing'_-

_After leaving Tomb Town, Chick and Stew were outside of Astro Land and everyone was gathered around. Chick started to report, "Zowy sport fans! Did you see...?" Just then; Chick was cut off by Cortex. He was bandaged up and beaten up pretty badly. The chicken squawked as he pushed them aside. Cortex stated, "Curse, some sinister force is upstaging my evil plans! Curses! Curses! Curses!" Cortex then went over to the line-up with the others. _

_He was a bit ways away from Crash but it did look like that Cortex wanted to stand next to the south Australian bandicoot. Nina perked up at this and at her uncle. She wondered why her uncle wanted to stand next to the hero that was upstaging him. Coco went over to Chick and Stew. Coco took Chick's microphone from him. She stated, "Hey, I think I am beginning to deuce what's been going on here." Crunch asked, raising an eyebrow, "What is it?"_

_Coco answered, "Well, the pattern I've concluded from deductive reasoning is that whoever stole the power gems has some connection to Wumpa Whip!" Von Clutch repeated, surprised, "Wumpa Whip?" Pasadena nodded as she replied, "That's affirmative, V.C. There has been a trail of Wumpa Whip at every scene of every power gem in the park!" V. C. responded, "That is ridiculous." He then asked, "I mean, who drinks Wumpa Whip anyways?" _

_Willie started to shake nervously as everyone looked down the line until their eyes laid on Crash. Crash was sipping down some Wumpa Whip rather loudly. Everyone shouted, "It's you!" To this, Crash belched loudly. Coco cried, "Oh, Crash! How could you?" Willie's jaw dropped as he yelled, "Oh, I don't believe this! You people are dumber than a sack of hammers! It's me! Me, I tell you!" Everyone stared at him, a bit surprised. Willie added, annoyed, "Don't you get it? ME!" _

_Von Clutch finally said, "Really…my Charlie Park Mascot? Don't tell me anymore!" With that, Von Clutch covered his ears and started to speak German. Willie stated, "And I would've succeeded too if it wasn't for you meddling Bandicoots!" Willie paused and added, "Now the time is nine, it's really do or die!" With that, Willie took out a bag and pulled out a stone. This stone was shaped like a diamond and Willie commented, "And with this stone in my sack, it proves that Von Clutch is a hack!" _

_Von Clutch gasped as Willie finished, "And you can look for me in the sky!" With that, Willie pointed at Astro Land and ran into the last land with the Black Power Gem. "So long suckers," he said as he disappeared. Von Clutch stated, "Ah, quick! We must stop him! We only have moments left to get my Black Power Gem before I am kaput!" "To the rocket," everyone declared. As our heroes ran into Astro Land; Chick and Stew started their very last television report. _

_Chick reported, "Here we are sports fans: the last hoorah. Crash Bandicoot has found the last power gem and won the ownership of the park!" Stew brought out a pocket watch and added, "But with only a short time left, is it too late to retrieve the Black Power Gem and save the weakened Ebenezer Von Clutch?" With that, Von Clutch powered down. Crash felt a ping in his heart. He hoped that he could stop Willie Wumpa Cheeks before it was too late for poor Von Clutch. _

_'Hang on, V.C.,' thought Crash, 'we will save you.' Cortex turned to him when they were alone (since everyone else already had gone into Astro Land) and asked, "Are you sure you are up for this?" "I'm sure," Crash replied, "Sometimes, you have to be a hero in an impossible mission."_

-End of Flashback-

Cortex was reflecting on those words from what seemed like so long ago. He had to admit that Crash was right. He did need to be the hero in the impossible mission. And the impossible mission: taking down his own niece….the exact same niece that helped them saved the world from the Evil Twins…

_AK1028: I hope that you liked this chapter! Please read and review, everyone! And always think out of the box!_


	7. Chapter 7

Nina was training with Gus yet again, with her Altaria battle his new Dusclops. "Altaria, Flamethrower," Nina commanded. Altaria breathed in deeply and fired a powerful stream of fire straight at Dusclops. Gus countered, "Disappear, Dusclops!" Dusclops obeyed and disappeared out of the line of the fire stream. Nina snarled in between her teeth. Gus then commanded, "Dusclops, Shadow Punch!" All of the sudden, a ghost punch came behind Altaria, hitting it in its blind spot. Altaria was shaken but it didn't go down.

"That's the way," Nina encouraged. Gus observed her battling style carefully, still wondering about what he saw in the report. _'If Nina did cheat in the battle against Crash, a Pokémon battle will prove it,' _Gus thought to himself. Nina ordered, "Altaria, use Aerial Ace!" Altaria swooped around and struck Dusclops with a fast strong blow. Gus hissed through his teeth and commanded, "Dusclops, Ice Beam!" Dusclops shot a blue light towards Altaria and knocked it out.

Nina mumbled, "Darn it should've gone with Steel Wing…" That's when Gus put two and two together. Nina was a good battler but she would never cheat. Gus recalled Dusclops after Nina recalled Altaria. Gus then went over to Nina and stated, "You are a decent battler, Nin." "Thanks," Nina replied, "You are too." Gus smiled and then decided, "Nin, there's something I've gotta tell you." "What is it," Nina asked, blushing that Gus had taken her metal hand into his.

Nina asked, still blushing at his soft touch and hoping that her metal hand wasn't too cold for him, "What is it?" Gus sighed, as he was unsure how Nina would react. He started this thing and he was going to finish it, that's what he promised himself. He finally answered, "It's the reason Arachina died so early. Nin... He might've been drugged."

Back on the islands; John and Pete were training with Crunch, since he brought out some of his fighting types. "You guys are doing a nice job," Crunch stated. "Thanks," John and Pete said, out of breath. Crunch responded, "As long as you keep that up, you can defeat that mysterious guy again." "Sure like to know who he was," John commented. Pete replied, "Same here."

Crunch stated, "Maybe you should now train with Conkeldurr." Conkeldurr was the Muscular Pokémon and had two cement blocks in both of its hands. "Whoa," John stated, "That's the first time I've seen a Conkeldurr." "Me too, sure wish we could go to Unova but I love our home here," Pete stated. John smiled as he replied, "Yeah me too so bring it on, Crunch!" Crunch smiled and replied, "Oh, it will be brought!"

"Drugged," Nina repeated, a bit surprised. Gus nodded and answered, "I got a little suspicious that your victory with Crash was just that easy so I did some snooping. Turns out that Arachina had triple as much nitrogen in its system compared to Ee-Lectric." "That's not possible," Nina stated, a bit shocked, "Arachina was healthy as a mutant spider should've been. Sure, she was a little jumpy during the battle but I just thought she was excited about the battle!"

Gus shook his head and handed her the report. He responded, "If you don't believe me, this report will show you the truth." Nina took it, a bit hesitant and read the report. She was sick to her stomach almost instantly. Nina shook her head, tears rolling down her face, "No, no! I didn't want to win by drugs! I wanted to win fair and square!" She dropped the report and started to really cry. Gus was by her side instantly, hugging and holding her, believing that the girl did want a fair fight.

Unknown to anyone in the regular dimension, there was a disturbance in the tenth dimension. For some odd reason, Evil Crash was feeling very sick and forced to come over was the good Nina Cortex, since Evil Coco had killed her uncle. The good Nina looked very different compared to her evil first dimension counterpart. She had no _"N"_ on top of her forehead; her black shoulder length hair was instead very long brown hair. Her ice cold blue eyes were in reality warm chocolate ones.

Her school uniform was in reality short sleeved pink dress, white caprice, pink and white slippers. Finally, her skin was a light yellow instead of blue and her hands were normal. "Tell me why again you asked me here after your sister killed my uncle," the tenth dimension Nina demanded to the tenth dimension Evil Crash. Evil Crash answered, growling a bit, "Coco did not kill your uncle, Aku-Aku did." Nina perked up at this and asked, "He did…?" Evil Crash nodded and wiped away any tears that were evident.

He answered, "Yes. He was done with your uncle always trying to stop me so he killed your uncle in our fight by drugging Ee-Lectric. He believed that with your uncle out of the way, Coco could be the great evil leader of our dimension." Nina pointed out, "Which she is but I just don't understand why you are in this condition." Evil Crash chuckled and stated, "I would be by her side if she wasn't so dumb and if I wasn't so sick." Nina had taken Evil Crash's temp as they were talking and saw that he was burning up.

"I don't like this," Nina stated, "You're burning up." She then asked, "What did you eat recently?" Evil Crash answered, "Nothing, actually. I haven't eaten in an entire year." "And yet you're still alive," Nina asked, a bit surprised. Evil Crash nodded as he answered, "Yeah and the last thing I had were two roasted chickens that walked right into my house." "Roasted chickens walked right into your house," Nina questioned, not liking the sound of this.

Just then, Evil Crash's started to glow a green color and blood started to ooze out. Evil Crash hissed in much pain, freaking Nina out a little but she tried to keep a cool head for the sake of her uncle's best friend/enemy. She knew that's what her uncle would want. Nina started to ask, "What in the…?" But that was the last thing she said after the blood and the green liquid consumed her and Evil Crash…

_AK1028: Okay, that's the end of chapter 7! Wow, sorry about the delay in the chapters but I've been super busy with college and my caregiving to my mom. Things just have been nuts. At least I get to go to Comic Con tomorrow. That ought to be fun! Anyways, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	8. Chapter 8

That evening, back in the first dimension, Gus and Nina were sitting on the couch. Nina was still very somber as Gus kept his arm around her, holding her close and stroking her short black hair. Nina smiled, enjoying that. Gus also smiled as Nina traced Gus' cheek with her metal thumb. Even though her touch was cold as metal, he smiled at the sweet gesture. In the moment, Gus placed his lips on Nina's and gave her a gentle kiss. Nina returned it, holding Gus close.

Gus and Nina's tongues danced as they held each other. Uka-Uka appeared in the room and saw the kissing teens. Uka-Uka immediately got disgusted as he started to yell, "Nina Tabitha Cortex, what are you…?" Just then, an alarm went off in the headquarters, breaking the teens out of their kiss. Nina asked, "What's going on?" Uka-Uka answered, "That is the alarm system. I asked N. Gin to put it in after those upstarts attacked us a year ago." "Upstarts," Gus questioned.

"Victor and Maurtiz, the Evil Twins," Nina explained. She turned to Uka-Uka and asked, "What's this alarm for anyhow?" Uka-Uka answered, "I asked N. Gin to build it to alert us if something goes wrong in the tenth dimension. Like an earthquake or a natural disaster." "Or the whole dimension being destroyed in green glowing glow," Gus questioned as he pointed at the video feed of the tenth dimension. Nina looked as she saw what Gus saw. The entire dimension was flooded with green that almost looked like slime.

Gus asked, "What's happening…?" "Not sure," Nina answered. Uka-Uka stated, "I sense those upstarts. They are alive." Nina perked up at this as she responded, "And with Crash dead and my uncle along with John and Pete mad at me, we can't stop them with the Crash Twin Sanity team!" Gus stated, "Then there is only one way. We have to talk to John and Pete, personally."

John and Pete were currently battling against Crunch's Conkeldurr and the match was pretty even. John launched a Volt Tackle while Pete did a Shock Wave. Conkeldurr managed to deflect the two electric type moves but something caught its eye. Conkeldurr threw one of its blocks at the bushes and out came Gus and Nina. "Nina," everyone asked, in a surprised unison. John asked, "And what that guy doing with her?" Gus answered, "I'm her best friend – Gus Galvon – and not only that, I work for her."

Crunch asked, freaking out a bit, "Why would you do that?!" He then added, "She killed Crash! She killed my cousin!" Nina protested, waving her hands in front of her, "But I never wanted to kill him!" Bub questioned, rising an eyebrow, "How are we supposed to trust you?" Nina answered, "I'll prove it in a Pokémon battle!" "A Pokémon battle," John asked. "Yes," Nina replied, "If you win, I'll leave. If I win, you listen to what I have to say." Pete responded, "Bring it on!"

At that moment, Nina threw a poke ball and sent out her Typhlosion. "Typhlosion," said the Volcano Pokémon. John and Pete stood strong for they knew that battling a fire type, the battle was going to be hard.

Back at the houses; Cortex looked at the pictures of him, Crash, Nina, John, and Pete a year ago on this date. It was a year ago that they had tangled with the Evil Twins, Victor and Maurtiz. He was reflecting on those past events. John and Pete were giving each other silly poses as Crash had his arms around both Cortex and Nina. N. Gin came over and saw that page was opened. "So much has happened since then," N. Gin stated, casually. Cortex nodded and replied, "Yes, I know."

He paused to reflect, "John and Pete have returned, Nina is now the leader of my empire, and Crash is dead." That last part came out sour and sad, according to N. Gin. He decided to change the subject to the history of the picture. He asked, "Mind telling me the story behind this?" Cortex smiled for the first time in a long time as he told the story.

-Flashback: One Year Ago-

_The flash blinded the five heroes for a second as the two Pichu brothers rubbed their eyes. "I think I've got purple spots on my purple spots," John stated. "I hear ya on that one," Pete replied. Nina smiled and commented, "This was still the best adventure I ever had!" "Same here," Crash responded. Cortex questioned, "But do you even think we'll be together like this again?" "No doubt," John and Pete answered, in a happy unison. _

_Everyone smiled at their optimism as Crash turned to Cortex. Crash also answered, pointing straight at Cortex's heart, "Plus, that is up to you." Nina added, "We're not gonna force ya to make a choice. But you know that we are always here for you." Cortex smiled at them as he hugged them, his three best friends and his niece – who he loved like a daughter._

-End of Flashback-

Nina commanded, "Typhlosion, Flamethrower!" Typhlosion breathed in and fired the powerful fire attack straight at the two Pichu brothers. John and Pete quickly dodged the Flamethrower and landed near the Volcano Pokémon. John and Pete then used Quick Attack on Typhlosion but it didn't seem that phased. Nina commanded, "Use Fire Blast!" Typhlosion breathed in again and fired the other powerful fire attack at the two of them but they managed to dodge again, proving that they were as fast as their evolved form of Pikachu.

Cortex stated, "Course that was a long time ago when my best friend was still alive and well. And my own niece didn't turn on me." N. Gin started to say, "I am so sorry…" A voice stated, "We are still here for you but certain situations have forced the wrong cards to be played." Cortex perked up and turned around. Both he and N. Gin turned white as a ghost…

_AK1028: Well, that's the end of chapter 8! Things are getting really good around here! Eighteen days to go and I'll be 22! My gosh! Also today is a double feature. First, happy birthday to SnowAngel1999! Second of all, happy anniversary to my wonderful boyfriend: TimPrime1! Love and miss you much, hun. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	9. Chapter 9

Nina grinded her teeth and was just about to call another attack but then they heard a loud scream, identical to N. Gin's. John asked, "What was that?" Pete answered, "Not sure but it did sound like N. Gin. There must be something wrong back at the houses." John nodded as he stated, "Let's head over there!" Crunch and Nina nodded as they recalled their Pokémon and ran back to the houses.

Meanwhile, at the bay, the boat came in from the port. Old Phillip turned and said to his passenger, "Well, here we are, ma'am. This is the infamous N. Sanity Isle." The lady got off the boat, revealing a woman with medium length brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a pink shirt, purple jeans, white shoes, pink hat and a pink scarf. "Thank you," the lady responded, in a beautiful British accent. Old Phillip replied, "You're welcome, Miss Cortex." The lady smiled and headed into the jungles of the N. Sanity Isle.

Nina, Gus, Aku-Aku, John, Pete, Cynthia, Selma, Cristaen, Johnny, Cynthia, Coco, Crunch, and Coral arrived back at the bases and saw the unbelievable sight. Standing there, next to Cortex and N. Gin was Crash Bandicoot. Coco was in total shock. Crash hadn't change in a year expect for the fact that he had lost his left leg and in its place was a fake leg. Everyone else was in shock as well but none more so than Nina. Coco asked, "Crash…you're alive?"

Crash nodded and answered, "Yeah, the attack that took my leg. I managed to get to Citrate Isle where Benny found me and took me to the hospital, where they gave me my fake leg. I've been with him ever since." Woolen turned to Selma and asked, "Isn't Benny the gym leader over on Citrate?" Selma nodded, still a bit shocked. Cristaen didn't care anymore so she wrapped her arms around Crash and held him tight. Crash was surprised at first but returned it.

Aku-Aku stated, "It is great to see that you are alive and well." Gus responded, "Yeah at least we don't have to feel guilty about Arachina being drugged." "What," everyone said in unison, except for Coco and N. Gin. Coral asked, "Arachina was drugged?" Crash nodded and answered, "Yeah, that's how I lost my leg." John turned to Nina and questioned, "You sunk that low to win against Crash?" Nina defended, "I didn't do it!" Gus replied, "I believe her because we had a Pokémon battle."

Cortex responded, "Smart, a Pokémon battle proves if someone cheats or not." Tiny questioned, "Tiny doesn't cheat." Cynthia rolled her eyes as she asked, "But if Nina didn't, who did?" John answered, "Probably Uka-Uka." Pete added, "Wouldn't put it past him." Selma stated, "Well, at least we are all together again." Nina commented, "Probably not for long." Everyone perked up as Crash asked, "What do you mean?" Nina answered, "The Evil Twins are back."

Back with the lady, she finally got to the houses. She said, in her British accent, "Finally, I have arrived. Hopefully, I can cheer up my brother."

-Flashback: One year ago-

_Crash dragged his body as far as he could. He could no longer feel his left leg anymore. He was getting a bad feeling. "Oh gosh, this hurts," Crash groaned as he continued to drag himself to any kind of help with one good leg and trail of blood behind him. Crash actually was in an underground tunnel that was taking him under the sea and to Citrate Isle. Crash finally managed to surface on the beach before passing out. The next thing Crash knew, he woke up to the gym leaders and the Elite Four. _

_From Citrate Isle was Benny, the defender of the Dark Grass badge. Benny had short green hair, brown eyes, wearing a green grass suit and bluish-green shoes. From Toola Isle was Delia, the defender of the Light Fire badge. Delia had long red hair, stunning hazelnut eyes, wearing an orange shirt, red-orange pants, and yellow-orange shoes. From Rolland Isle was Marissa, the defender of the Psychic Eye badge. Marissa had long black hair, green eyes, wearing a purple suit with purple sneakers. _

_From Grote Isle was Jacob, the defender of the Rapid Water badge. Jacob had short brown hair, blue eyes, wearing blue shorts, and blue flip flops. From Java Isle was Ileana, the defender of the Cold Steel badge. Ileana had short blonde hair, brown eyes, wearing a grey dress suit, and black shoes. From Say Isle was Ethan, the defender of the Ele-Bolt badge. Ethan had short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a yellow suit and yellow shoes. _

_From the Elite Four was Oscar, the first Elite Four and master of Ice types. Oscar had rather short blue hair, stunning blue eyes, wearing a blue suit with blue dress shoes. Queeny was the second of the Elite Four and master of Bug types. Queeny long red hair pulled back in a rather long ponytail, blue eyes, wearing an orange shirt with her navel showing, blue jeans, and black flats. Ursula was the third Elite Four and master of Poison types. Ursula had rather short purple hair, almost boy-ish like. _

_She had dark green eyes and she was wearing a purple kimono. She also had flip flops on her feet and she had a pink Japanese flower in her hair. Zeke was fourth Elite Four and master of Dark types. Zeke had short black hair, blue eyes, wearing a dark suit with a white bow tie, and black shoes. Crash was surprised to see them. He asked, "What is going on you guys?" Delia answered first, "Benny found you on Citrate Isle. He brought you to the hospital and then called us." _

_Crash turned to Benny and said, "Thanks, Benny." Benny stated, "No problem, although there is one." Ethan added, "Everyone thinks you're dead." Crash stated, "I gotta tell them the truth." "No, not yet," Queeny advised. Oscar added, "You can't tell them until a year from now. Trust us. By that time, the champion will return and we'll have our eighth gym leader."_

-End of Flashback-

_AK1028: Well, that's the end of chapter 9! Hope you guys liked this and I hope that this twist was worth it!_

_**My news:**__ my mom has now lost track of time, has zero patience, having trouble going, and really losing it all together. It is not an easy month for me right now. Tomorrow is Toonami night and I'm not missing it for the world._

_**Story news:**__ Ribbon Cup Chronicles, a Pokémon fiction story and The Call of a Heroine, a Fairly Odd Parents fiction story will be updated today or tomorrow as well, again depending on time. For Unova League Chronicles, I'm getting help from TimPrime1, thank you so much, hun. For The Chaos of Knowing; Volume 2, a Fairly Odd Parents fiction story, after this is done, I will go back to that and finish it off. As to my real world Pokémon story, that is going to be on the back burner until next year as a New Year fiction story. I do want to plan a new Fairly Odd Parents crossover but after The Call of a Heroine is over and done._

_**Final end:**__ Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	10. Chapter 10

Everyone was prepared now with all sorts of magical items plus weapons that they could find. They were ready to take down the Evil Twins, as seeing that Coco had tracked them down in the 63rd dimension. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Cynthia answered. Standing there was Nacey. "Cynthia," Nacey asked, a bit surprised. "Nance," Cynthia breathed. Hearing that nickname, Cortex perked up. "Nance," he repeated, a bit surprised.

Cortex went over to the door and saw his older sister standing there, he was beyond surprised. He never thought that his sister would return back to N. Sanity Isle. "Hello, Neo," Nacey stated. Just seeing her again brought back memories of when he first created Crash…

-Flashback: _'The First Game Story'_-

_The first base of Dr. Neo Cortex was in the top of Mount Indigo. Cortex stated to his right hand man, "Thanks again for signing on, N. Brio." N. Brio responded, "It's an honor to be in your presence again, my friend." Render came over and reported, "Everyone is asleep, Cortex." He then asked, "Shall I take the first watch?" Cortex shook his head and answered, "No need to worry, Render. We're on top-actually in-one of the highest mountains in these islands." N. Brio added, "No worries up here." _

_Render nodded as he stated, "Okay, then. Good night." With that, he went to his room. Cortex rolled his eyes as he picked up a letter. He stated to N. Brio, "He's such a worry wart." N. Brio responded, "I agree." With that, Cortex opened his envelope and read his letter. Afterwards, his eyes started to twinkle. He said, "N. Brio, listen to this!" With that, he read aloud: "My dear brother, I'm getting cabin fever here at home. My husband giving me all kinds of grief._

_"Anyways, I was wondering if I can come see you for a few days, if that won't bother you. I'll be on my way in a few days. Oh, and I'll also bring Nina – my daughter as well. See you then, Nacey." He exclaimed, excited, "I can't believe it! My sister is on her way here!" N. Brio smiled, faking. He stated, "Along with a little luggage it seems." Cortex gushed, "Ah, man. This is going to be great! I can't wait to see her!" N. Brio snapped him back to reality, "I'm glad for you but we need to move on. _

_"I'm ready to evolve this creature." Cortex smiled and ordered, "Excellent! Flip the switch!" N. Brio nodded as he flipped the switch. The Evolution Ray produces a beam and evolves the creature. Cortex questioned, "What kind of readings are you getting?" N. Brio checked the computer and answered, freaking, "More than the machine can register! It's going to blow! Hit the deck!" Cortex ducked down along with N. Brio as the machine blows. Render comes over – as does the rest of the army. _

_Render questioned, "What in the sweet world happened?" N. Brio was able to get out of the wreckage first and answered, "We got record readings. More than yours Render." Pinstripe was impressed and asked, "Is that even possible?" "Apparently so," Cristaen answered. Next to get out of the wreckage was Cortex. He asked, still a bit dizzy, "Did anyone get the number of that bus?" To this, Ripper laugh insanely as all of the sudden, a bandicoot came out of the wreckage. _

_Everyone saw this as Tawna asked, "Who's that?" Crash came over and answered, "I'm just a bandicoot." Cortex complemented, "And a very powerful one at that." With that, Cortex brushes himself off – as long with Crash, feeling like a strong friend to him already. Cortex named him, "You are Crash Bandicoot and the leader of this fine army." Crash asked, raising an eyebrow, "And you are?" N. Brio answered, "He is! That is your creator, Dr. Neo Cortex. But, we all call him Cortex." _

_He then stated, "I'm N. Brio." Render got immediately jealous and angry, since he was the former leader. He introduced himself, "Render." Pinstripe introduced himself next, "Pinstripe is the name shooting things is my game." Cristaen introduced herself next, "I'm Cristaen, Pinstripe's younger sister." In the background, Ripper laughed. Cristaen added, "Oh, and that's Ripper." Ripper laughed again as Tawna introduced herself last, "And I'm Tawna."_

_She then added, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Crash." Crash smiled, sincerely as everyone cheered except for Render, who was green with envy. He vowed then that he would get the leadership back and destroy Crash Bandicoot - as well as Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex._

-End of the Flashback-

Cortex hugged his sister and stated, "It's so good to see you! We could use your help to stop the Evil Twins!" "Who are the Evil Twins," Nacey questioned. Cortex sheepishly smiled and answered, "Do you remember Victor and Maurtiz, my pet parrots?" "Yes," Nacey answered, rising an eyebrow. "I had sent them to the tenth dimension," Cortex stated, sheepishly. Nacey face palmed herself. She should've saw this coming….

_AK1028: Well, this is the end of chapter 10! Sorry for the delay in my stories but I've been super busy with college and with work! Anyways, here's my news!_

_**My news:**__ My birthday is in 6 days. I'm excited. Wish there was a hockey game on my birthday like there was supposed to be. Now I got no plans… As for college, I recently got an A-on my test in my Computer Assisted Reporting class. I also got a B- on my art test in my Creative Expression class. I got a test on the 23rd in my Media Criticism class._

_**Story news:**__ As for Unova League Chronicles, as soon as I get some decent help, I'll update it! Sorry for the long delay on that!_

_**Final notes:**__ Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	11. Chapter 11

As the gang prepared themselves to jump to the 63rd dimension, Cortex was catching his older sister up. "I can't believe that the Victor and Maurtiz were alive after what you did to them," Nacey commented, "Not to mention after what happened to them with Evil Crash and all." "Join the club, sis," Cortex replied.

-Flashback: 31 years ago-

_An eight year old Neo Periwinkle Cortex was tinkering with his Evolution Ray. A nine year old Nacey Rose Cortex came in and saw that the Evolution Ray was just about ready. Nacey approached her brother and asked, "Neo, are you sure you want to go through this experiment of yours?" "I have to," Neo answered, not looking at his sister, "Someone has to fulfill grandpa's dream." "But it doesn't have to be you," Nacey pointed out, proving once again that she was wise beyond her years. _

_"Leave me alone," Cortex hissed, annoyed. Nacey shrugged as she walked off. She checked on her brother later that afternoon. She saw that he looked very puzzled…and without his pet parrots. She asked, "Neo, where are Victor and Maurtiz?" Neo sighed, tired. He answered, "I don't know." Nacey stepped into the room a bit more and asked, "What do you mean?" Neo answered, "I used the Evolution Ray on them and they disappeared." Nacey gasped at this. _

_Neo nodded as his body shook. Nacey picked up on this and knew that her brother was finally breaking down. She wrapped her arms around him, embracing him. Neo cried into her, revealing his less "monstrous" side._

-End of Flashback-

John smiled and said, "And then there was their return." Pete smiled too and added, "And that was one thing that Cortex will never forget!"

-Flashback: 1 year ago [Crash Twin Sanity: One and Half]-

_The four some enter Cortex's lab. In the room is a huge electronic map with a red circle on their location. There is also a big, comfortable chair in the middle room. On the back wall is a picture of Nina, Cortex's niece. Cortex started to say, "Come! We must make plans for….." That's when the doorbell goes off. John joked, "Jovian Witness really does go everywhere." Pete added, "Get the door it's Dominoes!" Crash said, monotone like, "The bill collectors are here again." _

_Cortex responded, sheepish, "Then, it's probably for you." Crash rolled his eyes and answers the door. Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka are there but are being held up by Victor and Maurtiz. Victor said, "Trick or treat! Trick or treat!" John informed, "Dude, Halloween has been passed." Pete added, "But half credit on saying trick or treat right." Victor and Maurtiz throw down the masks in disgust. Maurtiz taunted, "Fools! Do you think that these two party boys could've defeated us? _

_"We're masters of the infinite dimensions….power over reality itself!" Victor added, "And riches beyond imagination!" Everyone asked, at the same time, "Riches?" Maurtiz asked, "Riches? What's wrong with you?" With that, he bonks Victor in the head and adds, "Always bringing up the riches." He pauses and then they look at Cortex. Maurtiz asks, "You don't remember us, do you doctor?" Cortex asked, confused like everyone else, "Should I?" Victor answered, "You ruined our lives! Allow us to return the favor." _

_Crash interjected, "Okay. Wait one minute here. For your information, he ruins everyone lives except for John and Pete's." He pauses and asks, "Could someone fill me in on what's going on?" John stated, "Wish we could. We don't know what's going on either." Pete spun back around to his brother, Crash, and Cortex and told them, "Ah, guys. We can always ask the ants for their opinion." Crash, Cortex, and John turn around and see the ants coming at them. _

_After defeating the ants; Crash gives Cortex, John, and Pete a thumb up. The Evil Twins look annoyed. Maurtiz stated, "You see? This is why no one likes you. A curse on you, Crash Bandicoot! A curse on you all! We shall return!" The two of them go through the door but Victor comes back. He asks, "Oh, forget that I mentioned the riches part, huh?" Victor then goes through and the door disappears. Crash yelled after them, "Yeah and by the way, the curse thing? It's getting old." _

_John asked, "Really?" Pete added, as Crash nodded, "Go figure." Cortex mumbled, "I'll have to make a note of that." He looks up and sees Crash is staring at him. He tells him, "Oh, don't give me look. I told them, now I'll tell you. I don't know them!" John defended, "I believe you, Cortex." Pete pointed out, "I do too but somehow they know you." Crash ranted, "I don't know where to start. Yes, I do. You've been ruining lives since and before I was created. _

_"I don't know if you're lying to us or you're telling the truth. Frankly, I stop listening to you a long time ago." Cortex sighs at this. That's when Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka wake and get up. Aku-Aku asked, "Dr. Cortex, what have you done?" Uka-Uka also asked, "Who are these evil upstarts?" Cortex turns around to them and sighs again. He tells them, truthfully, "I've ruined many lives-including my own. I can't be expected to remember them all." Crash perks up at this. _

_He asks, "You really don't remember them, do you?" Cortex shakes his head as John and Pete go over to Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka. John stated, "Please give US a chance to defeat them." Pete added, "We'll defeat them." Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka looked at each other and nodded. Aku-Aku responded, "Fine by me." Uka-Uka added, threatening, "But, this team up is only temporally." That's when the two of them left. Cortex turned to Crash._

_He said, "So, between my mighty intellect, your amazing stupidity, and John and Pete's jokes, we'll be unbeatable." Crash smiled at this and responded, "Sounds good to me." John and Pete said, in unison, "And us." That's when the four them shake each other's hands in agreement. Cortex instructed, "Follow me gang!"_

-End of Flashback-

Cortex smiled a bit as he stated, "Yes well, at least our leader is still alive." Crash turned to his old friend as Cortex added, "Welcome home, my friend." "Thanks," Crash responded.

_AK1028: And that's the end of chapter 11! Sorry for the delay but things have been nuts! Allow to explain!_

_**My news:**__ My birthday has just passed so now I am 22 years old. I made a wish that TimPrime1 and I be together forever. As for college, I took a test on the 23rd in my Media Criticism class. Everyone, please stay safe during the Sandy storm!_

_**Story news:**__ As for Unova League Chronicles, as soon as I get some decent help, I'll update it! Sorry for the long delay on that! For The Call of the Heroine, I hope to update that soon!_

_**Final notes:**__ Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	12. Chapter 12

As the vortex opened, the heroes of N. Sanity Isle stepped through to the 63rd dimension. Unsure of what they would find there, they proceed with much caution. The 63rd dimension looked strangely like N. Sanity Isle when our heroes arrived. John and Pete went scouting out first. The two Pichu brothers were curious. Following the duo were the rest of the heroes of the Wumpa Isle Circle. Cynthia stated, "This is a strange dimension."

Cristaen turned to Cortex and asked, "Isn't this where our alternate genders live?" Cortex nodded and answered, "Supposedly but it seems like they aren't around." Nacey's eyes glowed white as she grabbed her head. Nina saw this as she turned to her. Nina didn't know much about her mother since she was left on the islands with her uncle ever since she was a baby. She asked, "What's the matter, mom?" Nina had to admit that just saying that sounded right, weird as it was.

Nacey answered, "I'm not sensing any life forms in this dimension except us and two dark forces." Gus overheard this and questioned, "You have island magic too?" Cortex explained, "Nance and I had our powers ever since we were little." Crash stated, scratching the back of his head, "That's one story I never heard." Nacey smiled as she replied, "Allow me to further explain, then."

-Flashback: _'The Way We Met'_-

_On one sunny day in London, England, a young Nacey was reading a book…a spell book. She was currently 16 as Jasmine Cortex; 18 years of age, long brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a purple suit, and white flat shoes, approached her younger sister. Jasmine asked, "What in the world are you doing?" With that, Jasmine took Nacey's book as Nacey protested, "Hey!" Jasmine flipped through the pages and saw no words. _

_She shook her head and stated; "Now this is one weird book. Every time I pick this dumb book up, there are no words." Nacey snatched her book away from her older sister and hissed, "That's because it's like grandma told me. If you're not pure of heart and don't believe in anything is possible, you won't be able to see the words." Jasmine questioned, a bit shocked, "You really believe in that stuff?" Nacey shot back, "I am a Plumber's assistant, aren't I?" _

_Jasmine rolled her eyes and stated, "That's for toilets, silly." With that, Jasmine left and Nacey rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she heard the 15 year old Cortex calling for help. Nacey ran into his bedroom and saw a very tall man standing there…Jorgen Von Strangle. And he was doing the "Strangle" part since he was holding Cortex by the collar. Nacey demanded, "What in the world is going on here?" Jorgen grimaced and muttered, "Oh, great. Now another human knows about the fairies!" _

_Both of the siblings questioned, "Fairies?" "Oh darn it," Jorgen said under his breath. Nacey stated, "Look, I don't know what this all about but let go of my brother!" Jorgen objected, "No way! He's been sending mutants to Fairy World!" Cortex protested, "I've been doing no such thing! I don't even know where Fairy World is!" Jorgen replied, "I don't believe you." Nacey whispered, "There has to be a way to convince you that my brother is innocent." _

_That's when she looks at her spell book, an idea forming in her head. She whispered, "Maybe there is a way…." She opened the book and flipped to a page. She chanted, "Truth flow to the pores of my brother." With a flash of a white light, Cortex felt awfully strange…like he had to tell the truth. He stated, "But, I really didn't send mutants to Fairy World!" Jorgen was stunned by this as he commented, "Unbelievable. Your brother was telling the truth." Cortex asked, "Can you let me go now?" _

_Jorgen complied as he let go of Cortex, rather harshly. Nacey went over to her younger brother and asked, "You okay?" Cortex nodded and answered, "Yeah… It is good thing grandma gave you that spell book. I couldn't see Jasmine having that book." Nacey pointed out, "Jasmine can't see the words but we can." Jorgen was interested about this. He questioned, "May I…?" Nacey gave him the spell book and he examined it._

_He thought, 'The ancient text matches the text from the legends of the magical beings. Could it be that these two….?' He told the two siblings, "Here's what I'll do. Help me free Fairy World and I'll tell you what I know about this book." Cortex looked at his older sister and asked, "What do you think?" "We have nothing to lose," Nacey answered. She turned to Jorgen and stated, "We're in!"_

-End of Flashback-

Nacey finished, "After we freed Fairy World from the mutants, Jorgen told us about our powers. We've been magical ever since." Nina, Gus, Aku-Aku, John, Pete, Cynthia, Selma, Cristaen, Johnny, Cynthia, N. Gin, Tiny, Crash, Coco, Crunch, Coral were in total shock. Tiny commented, "Tiny is surprised!" Aku-Aku replied, "I am too. It appears that your evil actions made me blind to the fact that you had island magic." Cortex stated, "I have had it most of my life."

"Same here," Nacey added. Before Aku-Aku could continue, John and Pete perked up. John stated, "I'm sensing something." Pete added, "Yeah, more Pokémon!" "That's impossible," Nacey replied, "I didn't sense any Pokémon besides the ones we brought and you two." Gus asked, "Are you sure that you two aren't just sensing yourselves?" That's when everyone heard a scream. "You were saying," John stated as he and Pete ran off with the others right behind.

_AK1028: And that's the end of chapter 12! Sorry for the delay but things have been nuts! Allow me to explain!_

_**My news:**__ My last day of classes is going to be on December 6th and then I'll be going on vacation. So, I'll be celebrating the holidays outside of Buffalo, New York. Destination, you ask? No spoilers!_

_**Story news:**__ As for Unova League Chronicles, as soon as I get some decent help, I'll update it! Sorry for the long delay on that! For The Call of the Heroine, I hope to update that today!_

_**Final notes:**__ Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	13. Chapter 13

John and Pete skid to the stop. They were in front of the volcano, which looked pretty active. John stated, "I know I'm sensing another Pokémon around here besides just us." Pete responded, "Same here…" That's when the brothers picked up on something. Following their instincts, John and Pete went towards the face of the volcano and saw a metal door. "What the heck," the brothers asked in unison. "Wait," said a voice.

John and Pete turned and saw the island running towards them. Crash asked, "Are you sure that you two sense another Pokémon around here?" Pete answered, "We're sure. But our senses are pointing us here." Nina stated, "At an active volcano, that's weird." John replied, "Tell us something we don't know. What are even weirder are those metal doors." Gus questioned, "Metal doors?"

Cortex explained, "Remember, in our dimension Mount Indigo has a secret of my first base. This volcano might have the same secret." Cynthia asked, "But how do we get it to open?" Cristaen answered, "The same way we open the doors in Mount Indigo." Crash nodded as he pressed on a button along the side of the door. The doors swung open as the two Pichu brothers took the lead. Everyone followed as they headed up the stairs.

Reaching the top, the heroes saw the Evil Twins holding captive two Pichu sisters. Coral whispered to John and Pete, "Those might be your counterparts of this dimension." Cynthia whispered, "Yes, you are right about that." Maurtiz stated, after he breathed in the air, "Ah, the sweet smell of success. It will only be a matter of time before we take over the regular dimension.

"But that's soon after we take care of the rest of the dimensions the way we did with the tenth dimension." Victor pointed out, "Yeah, that was fun!" The female Pichu with the messy hair yelled, "You won't get away with this!" The female Pichu with the straight hair added, "Yeah, we'll find a way out of this!"

Maurtiz commented, "I doubt that Johanna and Petal. You shall join your 10th counterparts soon enough." Victor sensed something and stated, "Hold on, something isn't right." Crash stated, making them known, "Yeah, we're here." Johanna asked, "Who are you?" Pete answered, "We're you!" "The opposites of you anyhow," John added.

Nacey demanded, "Let them go, Victor and Maurtiz." Cortex pulled out a Poke ball as did everyone else and the Evil Twins summoned robotic ants. As the heroes avoided the ants, John and Pete ran over to their counterparts to free them. Johanna did a quick Shock Wave while Petal did a quick Volt Tackle. John stated, "Wow, even their moves are identical to ours almost!" Pete added, "Sweet!"

After a quick battle, Victor and Maurtiz were captured. "Alright," everyone cheered. After entrapping the Evil Twins, the heroes escaped the active volcano, leaving Victor and Maurtiz behind. John turned to Johanna and asked, "What becomes of you and your sister?" Johanna answered, "We live our lives. That's all we can do."

Pete stated, "Too bad that you can't come live with us." Petal replied, "We must stay, it is the code of the dimensions." John and Pete sadly nodded as the heroes returned, leaving only the blood of Victor and Maurtiz behind…

_AK1028: And that's the end of chapter 13! And that's the end of this story! Here's my last notes and news for this story!_

_**My news:**__ My last day of classes is going to be on December 6th and then I'll be going on vacation. So, I'll be celebrating the holidays outside of Buffalo, New York. Destination, you ask? No spoilers!_

_**Story news:**__ As for Unova League Chronicles, as soon as I get some decent help, I'll update it! Sorry for the long delay on that! For The Call of the Heroine, I hope to update that today! And also, I hope to update Confessions as well._

_**Final notes:**__ Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


End file.
